write-handed:

Economics

Time is not money. It
is more than money.
Time is a golden day
spent at sea. Time is
a home-cooked meal
with family. Time is a
book, a first kiss, an
ice cream sundae, a
song, an open road,
a handful of stars or
wild dreams. Time is
certainly much more
than plain old money.

Words of wisdom from a 15+ year old me. Slightly edited.

I have friends. Friends so close, that they know me inside out. Each one of them is special in their own way – they have different talents and gifts. I share different parts of my life with different people, but I love them all the same. They are terrific company and deeply energize me with their enthusiasm for life. I know that they’ve got my back. They give me advice, listen to me rant, and I would do the same for them. We can get up to all kinds of mischief and shenanigans together and even spend countless hours laughing at the most inane things. These people have probably seen me in my weakest state, and have brought me through difficult times. They also take my extreme weirdness in, and join along at times. I’d do anything for them.

I have friends. Friends who are so near, but yet so distant. They spend hours with me, but they are still strangers. I don’t know what they love, or dislike. They’re just there. They’re nice people, but somehow, we don’t talk much. Everything’s superficial; though some of them might be the people I see everyday.

I have friends. Friends who used to be close, but somehow, drifted apart from me. We used to vow that we would be “friends forever” when we were younger and they were the perfect spark in my life. But over the course of time, people changed. Slowly, we realized that the common thread that held us together started fraying – we talked less, we grew apart, and we went our separate ways. The promises made to each other were slowly chipped away at, as we proceeded on to new phases of life with new friends and environments to deal with. These friends, I miss very much. I take heart in the fact that people change, but memories don’t.

I have friends. Old friends I have known for years, but have never progressed beyond casual talk with, because we don’t have anything in common. Friends that are mere acquaintances I have. We give courteous waves when we pass each other, and at times strike up some small talk. Otherwise, we are in different worlds.

I have friends. New friends that I have just gotten to know within the past year, yet I find myself able to share so much of my life with. I can text them, call them and go out with them, and be myself, in my entirety. It’s these people that I feel a click with, be it instantly or over a few conversations. I can’t wait to get to know them better.

I have friends. Friends I don’t talk to very often, but when we come back together, we can talk for hours, sharing our hearts, picking up where we’d left off the last time. This feeling = bliss. I’d count myself lucky if I manage to get to talk to them once every two months. Friends who know will be there when I need them, but otherwise, busyness keeps us in our own worlds.

I have friends. Childhood friends who I have managed to trace online. Some of them, I can talk to. I recall and recount the experiences we had. We plan to meet up to relieve our memories. Some of them, I can’t talk to, because they no longer remember that I was once a part of their lives.

It’s through growing up that I realize that people change. That innocent kid who sat next to you in Primary One could well be promiscuous now. The girl who used to pull your ponytail and make fun of you could be a scholar at the Ivies or Oxbridge now. Likewise, friends change. Change either pulls two closer together, or causes a glacial drift, where two become increasingly separate. Cherish your friends today. A friendship takes two to build, so don’t just keep taking, start giving. I have friends who have made efforts to sustain close friendships, and for that I am thankful (:

As we all grow older, time is going to make it harder for all of us to meet up. It’s up to how much all of us choose to put in to make friendships work.

Thank you friends for making my life so much more worth living =] As you can tell, my life is really friend-based. I thrive on relationships to sustain my energy. I love you, friends.”

The syntax is slightly off in this post but what the hey, I was so much younger then. These words still ring true 4 years on. Since being apart (due to school) was never an issue to the 15-year-old me, but it is now, let me just say to all my friends overseas – you are miles away by distance but never far in heart.

Like I said in my first post of the year: “ I think that all of my good friends are extremely gorgeous. Not that I pick them based on their looks, but what is in their hearts make them so very beautiful to me.” This is a toast to all of you. There will always be time for friends. Always.

“I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.”
― Jon Katz

The slightest of any grumbling overtones within me will probably be silenced for a long while after what I’ve experienced in Nepal.  People there live on less than 300USD a year. The villagers have so little, but they make do with what they have. At the same time, they give so freely without asking for much in return. I’m blessed to have a comfortable bed, access to hot running water, meat during meals and so much more. 

So many moments up in the mountains of Nepal can never be replaced. It is these moments that have shaped and will continue to shape each one of us into strong and hardy individuals. I want to have nerves of steel like the children in the villages; I want to be boisterous, determined and agile. I want to have a heart for people, the same kind of heroic heart that the World Vision guy has. I want to be someone of character. Someone who works as hard as the farmers who toil in the fields.

I will never forget the simple joys of Milo in the morning when my hands are half frozen, huddling around the fire at night, back rubs from Miemie, late night chats with my buddy + Jason and plates upon plates of momo. I will never forget the energy of the children – displayed through their actions of running around with bamboo sticks, climbing up precarious-looking trees and singing the “father mother brother sister” song. I will never forget the twinkle in their eyes. I will never forget painting the school walls with my bare fingers till they felt raw, and washing the mess tins with my awesome tent mates in the freezing cold. I will never forget the collective horror the team felt when Zhirong cut his finger. I will never forget the things that the team has done for each other, and for me. You guys move me.

That being said, words can never be enough. I can’t ever hope to capture the moments of sheer happiness, fatigue or the biting cold through arranged letters. That is the beauty of the Namaste experience; you have to be there to experience it yourself.